US auto-maker Chrysler prepares to go back to the US Treasury for another $3 billion in government loans this month, while Ford is in talks to sell its Volvo car unit to ChinaÔÇÖs Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., ChinaÔÇÖs largest privately owned car maker, in order to raise cash to avoid a federal bailout.

Kraft Foods Inc., the worldÔÇÖs second-largest food maker, reported a 72 percent decrease in fourth-quarter profit due to restructuring costs, and said that 2009 earnings will be less than previously forecasted because of the stronger dollar.  Edgar Roesch, an analyst with Soleil Securities, said he had anticipated gains from price increases would help outweigh the negative effects of the dollarÔÇÖs strengthening against other currencies. ┬á ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a bit of a disappointment,ÔÇØ said Roesch, who recommends holding Kraft shares.

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The Ford Motor Company has reported the largest full-year loss in its history but says it still will not seek government aid in the form of an emergency loan.  The US automakerÔÇÖs net loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $5.9 billion, up from a loss of $2.8 billion in the same quarter a year ago.  Ford's worldwide vehicle sales plunged 31 percent from a year ago, to 1.1 million. Total sales dropped 36 percent, to $29.2 billion. For the year, the loss amounted to a record $14.6 billion. Its previous record was a $12.6 billion loss in 2006.

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US drugmaker Pfizer is to buy rival Wyeth in a deal worth $68 billion, making it the biggest merger announced on Wall Street since the credit crunch and creating what both companies call "the worldÔÇÖs premier biopharmaceutical company."┬á  The acquisition will also be the largest merger in the pharmaceutical industry since Pfizer purchased Warner-Lambert for $93.4 billion in 2000.